Blood Fulfillment
by dafuturesingingsensation
Summary: Another new girl comes to Forks, one even more special than Bella: tan, joyful, and friendly with everyone. What will happen when she makes friends with both Edward and Jacob? Can she end the centuries-long feud between their peoples? Based off the MOVIE!
1. Here Comes The Sun

Blood Fulfillment

**A/N:** Ok, so… I'm a wholehearted "Life With Derek" and "Instant Star" fan, believe me, but the wretched Twilight craze has taken over even a couple of my friends, so I just had to watch the movie (I didn't want to put myself through any more torture than was necessary) to understand the jokes made about it, if not why it's so loved. And man, was it worth it. My eyes, not to mention sense of literary and cinematic quality, will hate me forevermore, but I got an understanding of the latest craze since Hannah Montana. And a pretty good fic idea, if I do say so myself. =3

So please, no hating or nitpicking. This is all just for fun, and based (rather loosely) off of the first movie. Being 75% mestizo, I, a little offended, wondered why Jacob's character, which had so much potential, because of the wonderfully rich culture he was obviously immersed in, was shoved to the side for nearly the entire movie. It's like, if you're gonna attempt diversity in having characters with different heritages, why ignore the heritage and treat them as if they were exactly the same as the other characters? It makes no sense at all. So I took that, and put my own spin on it for y'all. Tell me whatcha think of it. =)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Twilight_ in any way, shape, or form. I only own this fanfic, and its banner, which I made using Internet photos and Picnik(dot)com.

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Chapter One: Here Comes The Sun

There had been a long week of rain. Now, on Monday morning, the sun shone brightly, and lifted the spirits of the young students, even as they sat outside the school in anticipation of class. They were chattering amongst themselves, and there were many happy murmurings of, "Can you believe this weather?"

"Actually, no," Bella quipped. After nearly a month in Forks, the change in climate, though not at all unwelcome, was nonetheless unexpected.

"Don't worry, Bella," Eric told her soothingly. "The weather here gets better later on in the season." Everyone looked at him. "Ok, no, it doesn't, but you'll get used to it after a while."

Bella wanted to roll her eyes, but instead simply gave a half-hearted smile at the eager young man at her side. He did try hard to keep her interested, after all.

"We can at least enjoy the good weather while it's here," Jessica suggested. "It's not every day that we see the sun like this."

"Definitely not," Mike muttered absentmindedly. Everyone followed his gaze, and dropped their jaws at the sight of a new girl stepping out of a car. She waved goodbye to the driver, shouldered her tote bag, and as she turned around and caught sight of everyone in the schoolyard watching her, flashed them a bright, sincere smile. She was tall, slim, beautiful, and—this was what made her really stand out—naturally tan: Latina, with maybe a drop or two of pure Native American blood.

Eric quietly slipped away from Bella and approached the girl, in very much the same way as he had done with Bella. There was a quiet collective groan from all the males, and consequent chuckles from the females. "Hey there. I'm Eric."

"Hi, I'm Maya," the girl answered, smiling even more dazzlingly. "Nice to meet you."

"You too. You know, you're the second new girl in two months."

"Really? Who's the other one?"

Eric smiled. "Bella. She's a friend of mine. Ours, actually, we're part of a group. Would you like to eat at our lunch table?"

"Sure, that'd be great." The groans came louder from the guys, while Eric's group perked up. They had dibs on the new girl? That was pretty awesome.

Maya spotted them, and advanced towards them, Eric quickly following. "Hi, everyone!"

Everyone in the group offered a hand, and a half-friendly "Hey". Maya paid attention to their faces and names, before turning to Bella and beaming. "So. Bella. How long you been here?"

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Um, four weeks, more or less."

"And would you say you've settled in?"

Bella shrugged, and Maya beamed ecstatically. "Good. Now we can be the new girls together." Bella opened her mouth to protest, but suddenly anticipating Maya's disappointment, decided against it. "Uh…sure." The bell rang, leaving Bella to follow through on her new promise. Maya passed an arm through Bella's, and walked with her to class. Bella casually looked around her, wondering how the rest of the school was taking all this, and met Edward's eyes. He was lurking in the shadows, wearing a turtleneck and a baseball cap, and she didn't know if, from under the visor, he was staring at her, or Maya, or even both of them. She looked away and listened to Maya's happy chatter, offering a smile or word when it was necessary.

Inside, Bella was going to leave her at the attendance office to pick up her class schedule and other papers, but Maya protested strongly against being left "all alone", so she went with her to Biology, assuming that they would have the same class anyway. She was right, for when she approached Mr. Molina's desk with Maya at her side, the teacher looked up, and instead of looking surprised, gave them a wry smile. "Ah. The two new girls. So you found her yourself, eh?"

Bella took his question to be addressed to her, and somehow found herself smiling rather sheepishly. "Yeah, kinda…"

"_Hola_,_ Señor Molina_," Maya warmly interjected. Mr. Molina's eyebrows jumped excitedly at the girl's words, and he smiled genuinely. "_Hola, señorita Flores. Bienvenido a Forks. Esta es la clase de biología._"

"_Ay, qué bien,_" sighed Maya happily, earning another smile from Mr. Molina. Bella, listening, wrinkled her brow. "In English, please?"

"I just welcomed her to Forks, and told her this was her new biology class," explained Mr. Molina. "Apparently, to Maya, that's a good thing."

"Yes, I like plants," Maya stated simply. Bella stared at her, as did Mr. Molina, until their eyes met and they chuckled. Maya threw an arm gladly over Bella's shoulder. "Can we _please_ sit together?" Her full, red lower lip threatened to push itself out if her request was denied.

Mr. Molina chuckled. "Well, Bella already has a lab partner"—the lip trembled—"but I don't want to leave you by yourself. So let's see if you can sit with her and Edward for now."

Maya lit up, actually showing off pearly whites, and joyfully took the textbook Mr. Molina offered her and turned toward the table he indicated. Too late, Bella wondered what Edward might think, and looking at him, was rather amused to see him a tad surprised that the "new girl" was coming over to his table.

Bella reached Edward a few steps before Maya did, and quietly leaned in. "Hey, can you move over a little and make some space?" she murmured into his ear. Edward had no time to comply before Maya stood before him, and offered him her hand. "Hello."

Edward looked up at the hand's owner, peering steadily into her face, yet Maya appeared unfazed by the burning look that had unsettled Bella the first time she had had to undergo it. After a few heated moments, he resigned himself to casual words and gestures. He shook her hand with a simple "Hey" and swiftly moved over his books and chair to make room for her. After a quick glance at Maya, Bella took the seat next to him, and Maya settled herself next to her on a chair brought by Mr. Molina. The rest of the lesson was uneventful, aside from Maya talking and laughing with her seat partners, or at least attempting to do so, and in fact only earning embarrassed laughter from Bella, and thoroughly unreadable looks from Edward.

When the bell rang, Bella thought that she heard Edward breathe a quiet sigh of relief, and pack up his books more quickly than usual, without even giving her a final glance or bidding her goodbye. He was halfway out of the room, when Maya called him back,

"Wait, Edward," in the quietest tone she had used all morning.

He stopped abruptly, looked behind him, and after a moment, walked back to the table.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I was just trying to be friendly." The quiet look of contrition on the girl's face was enough to make anyone forgive her immediately, and as Edward looked at her, he smiled softly. "It's ok. It's partly my fault. I guess I need to learn how to act more…" He glanced over at Bella. "…human."

"I think you're fine the way you are." Edward's gaze returned to Maya, and lingered. He briefly raised his eyebrows, and gripped his bag. "What you say we go to lunch?"

Bella dropped a pencil at that moment, and Edward calmly watched her pick it up. Maya smiled. "No, thanks. I'll have enough to do, getting used to Bella's lunch group." She hesitated. "But maybe later on."

Edward nodded. "So, see you tomorrow?"

"Sure." The two girls answered in unison, and watched him leave. Once he was out of earshot, Maya turned to Bella. "Did I scare him?" she asked in a childlike voice.

Despite herself, Bella laughed. "No, I just…don't think he's ever met anyone like you."

"That's not a bad thing, though, is it?"

The answer was immediate, as if instinctive. "No. Definitely not." Bella looked at the girl in front of her, really looked: the sweet face, the eager-to-please expression, the lithe body that sat so politely and quietly. "I think it's a good thing you're here."

Maya grinned. "So I can act myself with your other friends?"

"If you've been acting yourself all morning, I think you'll be fine," Bella answered, a smile dawning on her own features. As she took Maya down to the cafeteria, and allowed herself to be amused by the innocent and amusing conversation the girl came up with, it suddenly occurred to Bella that she felt perfectly happy, for the first time in Forks since she herself had arrived.

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A/N:** Ok, so reading it over, it's rather short, but I suppose the chapters will get longer once I get used to writing these characters. Now click the nice button and tell me what you think. Please?


	2. Reunion

Chapter Two: Reunion

**A/N:** If the first couple chapters seem a bit too syrupy-sweet and chirpy, sorry. That's just how it is for now. Right now, I'm getting used to the characters—putting more life into the ready-made ones and figuring out my original—but I'll settle down soon. Plus, this initial mood is meant to make a contrast with that of later chapters, where problems do come up and have to be solved. P.S. Here, almost everything from the car accident onward doesn't happen. I have my own storyline, and I know how it'll work out. If you don't like it, well, you can just go on and read something else. I'm just writing this 'cause I'm bored, anyway. XD

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Twilight, I would have rewritten it about five hundred times before publishing, and let Robert Pattinson speak with his own English accent when playing Edward. I've never heard of any Brit who couldn't do a perfectly decent American accent with 500% more ease than any American trying to put on a British accent, yet there he is, the exception, recorded for posterity, sounding like some Eastern European in an attempt to be truer to the character or something. It's like, owO.

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As Bella had suspected, Maya was an immediate hit at the lunch table. She listened absorbedly to Jessica's gossip, laughed with Mike, flirted delicately with Tyler, and talked, with great interest, with Eric and Angela about the school paper and photography. As for Bella, Maya kept right by her side, and paid her every attention. When asked why, Bella shrugged, and Maya simply gave the 'new girls' explanation. No one took it amiss; in fact, several of them looked rather envious of Bella for having such a devoted friend.

Several times, however, Bella saw Maya glancing over at the Cullens, and occasionally even Edward watching their table. No one caught it but she, and since Maya didn't gaze rapturously at Edward as did every other member of the female population in the school, nor did Edward look back at Maya in any such way, Bella didn't worry. Instead, she watched Maya's charm and friendliness working a spell on the entire school, to the extent that in a matter of two weeks, she herself was known by many as "Maya's best friend", and the lunch table was referred to as Maya's, rather than Jessica's, or Mike's, or Tyler's, as it had previously been.

As for Edward, the hesitant friendship between Maya and him had blossomed. They sat together and talked during their classes together, and smiled when they passed each other in the hallways. Bella was included, of course, and the three were often called "the triplets". The other Cullens were rather distrusting, but Edward talked sense into them, and soon enough he repeated his offer to the girls of eating lunch together. Immediately after catching a particularly disdainful glance from Rosalie across the cafeteria, Maya smilingly accepted, and took Bella with her.

Bella noted that Maya instinctively tuned down her personality, and talked sports with Emmett, art and botany with Alice, and classes with Jasper and Edward. After listening to a hilarious anecdote of a mature professor who sometimes didn't understand the students' slang, for Maya had a knack for storytelling and imitating people, even Rosalie couldn't suppress a smile, and Bella felt comfortable enough to attempt conversation, to Edward's delight.

At the end of the period, Alice gave each of the girls an eager hug and Emmett suggested a weekend game of baseball, implying an invitation up to the house which Edward caught and supported. Maya happily returned the hug, promised to ask at home about the game, and said goodbye to Jasper and Rosalie, who by this time looked sorry to see her leave. Bella was especially welcomed, and Edward took her bag to accompany her to class. As they left the cafeteria, Jessica and Angela met up with them, overflowing with excitement.

"Maya, Bella, you should have been at our table. La Push, whaddaya think?" Jessica burst out.

Maya smiled, but looked a little puzzled. "What's La Push?"

"It's the only beach around for miles. There's a big ocean swell coming in this weekend—"

"And a pod of whales," Angela added. Maya loved animals.

"So we're all going on Saturday. What do you think?" Jessica beamed.

"Uh, it's been raining all week," Bella remarked. She wasn't at all averse to an outing, but she didn't want to go outside into rain and/or cold weather any more than was necessary.

"The weather report says it's going to be a little warmer on the weekend," Angela said.

Bella raised an eyebrow, and even Edward looked a little skeptical, but Maya seemed convinced. "I think it sounds great. Where is it?"

"On the Quileute reservation. It's not far."

Maya stopped dead, and Edward bumped into her. He almost stepped away, but noticing that Maya was a little faint, and quickly threw an arm around her waist to keep her from sliding to the ground. Maya quickly recovered, and approached Jessica. "This Saturday?"

"Yeah," responded Jessica, looking rather alarmed. "But if you don't wanna go, we can totally—"

"No, no, no," Maya interrupted. "I wanna go."

Everyone was a little taken aback—Maya was never this forceful—but listened to her. On Saturday, Edward had to go on a hiking trip with his family, but Bella came around to pick up Maya, who had no car, and everyone else came by themselves. They had all agreed to meet in the highway/parking lot before going down together to the beach. It was when Bella pulled up here that she noticed a couple of teenage boys, presumably Quileute, walking along. When Jacob caught sight of Bella's pickup, he stopped and smiled. "Hey, Bella!"

Bella smiled at the sight of Jacob, and waved to him to approach. When he did so, she told him about the new girl in her school, and turned to introduce Maya, who sat beside her, wrapped completely up in a huge furry blanket, for the morning was chilly, regardless of the weather report's predictions. Jacob stopped cold at the sight of the blanket, and stared at its owner until she lifted her face. Their eyes met, and one could hear the breath go out of them.

Bella didn't understand a thing about what was going on around her. Even Jacob's companions were gawping in the same manner as he at Maya, who was staring back at Jacob as if she recognized him from another life. After a few minutes of nothing but shocked silence, Bella couldn't take it, and was about to ask what on Earth was going on, when the others pulled up. They recognized Bella's truck as well, and called out to her. The noise woke Jacob and the others from their trance, but they still looked as if they had seen ghosts, so Bella waved her friends over. When they collected around the open driver's door, greeting Maya, they saw the look on her face.

"Yo, Maya, what's wrong?" Tyler asked, stepping towards her.

Maya shook her head at the friendly concern in his voice. "Nothing's wrong, Tyler." She looked up, straight at Jacob. "In fact, I think something's right, for the first time in years." She unwrapped the blanket from around her body and held it out to Jacob, who took it as gently as he would a newborn. "Can you tell me what you know about this?"

Jacob was nearly hyperventilating as he looked it over. "This is an authentic, traditional Quileute dog hair blanket. They take ages to put together, plus they're made of animal hair, so they aren't sold to the general public." He looked up at Maya. "You must have gotten it from someone Quileute. A long time ago."

Maya nodded solemnly. "Do you think there might be someone on the reservation who might know who made it?"

"Of course." Maya breathed a great sigh of relief when she heard that, and gently took the blanket back, winding it around her like a shawl. "Can we go, then?"

"But, Maya—" Mike interrupted. Maya turned to see him and the others behind him, all hopelessly confused. "What happened to hanging out?"

Maya looked sorrowfully at her friends. "Sorry, guys. I…lied to you. I didn't want to hang out; I just wanted to get to the reservation." She touched Jessica's shoulder. "There's something I have to do. It's really important."

"I'm coming with you." Bella jumped out of her truck and threw an arm over Maya's shoulders.

"Bella…" Both Maya and Jacob started out, but Maya acquiesced and let him explain. "This is about Maya. And the Quileutes. Nobody else."

Bella shook her head. "I'm not leaving her."

Maya gave her a hug. "Of course you can come. Just don't say anything, ok? You won't understand anything. I have to be the one to talk here." Bella nodded, and took her hand. She knew, somehow, deep down, she had to come along; she had to be in on this.

"Fine, then." Jacob put a hand on Maya's back, which was covered with the blanket, in a gesture of leading her. "It's this way."

"We'll be back, don't worry," Maya called out to her friends, giving them a smile and a wave, before cheerfully accepting Jacob's direction.

It was a long walk, and many times Bella would have asked for some sort of story or explanation, but she could see by the look on everyone's faces that something was brewing. Everything was bound to come out when they approached the longhouse.

When they arrived, Jacob motioned that he and his friends would go in first, and then come back for Bella and Maya. The girls nodded, and the boys disappeared inside the longhouse. After a minute or so of murmuring, Jacob came back out, and took Maya by the arm, leading her inside with Bella close behind them.

Inside, there was a great communion around the biggest fire, and sitting at the head was presumably the chief. He was mature, but his strong, fine cheekbones showed through the wrinkles and his black eyes flashed as he looked at Maya. "You are the girl?"

Maya nodded bashfully, and quietly stepped forward. She spoke a few words, completely foreign to Bella's ears, but astounding to everyone else around the fire. The chief himself nearly lost a fragment of his self-possession due to shock, before quickly sitting straight up and taking a deep breath.

"What did she just say?!" Bella demanded of Jacob in a fierce whisper, wild with impatience and lack of comprehension.

"She said, 'I am the granddaughter of Rebekah', in Quileute," Jacob whispered, himself in shock.

Bella was about to continue and ask who Rebekah was, but then one of the families gathered around the fire took an abrupt step toward Maya, particularly an elderly woman, who needed help standing, but rushed towards Maya as soon as she was able.

"Who are you?" Maya asked breathlessly.

"Your great-great-aunt, child!" She grabbed hold of Maya's arms, looking at her. "Yes…Yes, you are Rebekah's granddaughter, no one else." She ran a thumb down from Maya's cheekbones, along her jaw to her chin. "The square jaw, the fine brows, that brightness in your eyes…Yes, that's my sister!" Before the revelation had even finished, Maya had thrown her arms around the old lady, and held on to her as if she was afraid of being torn from her. "Elaine!"

"Yes, that's it, my dear girl," the woman sobbed. "My only niece's granddaughter knows my name! Everyone, do you hear?"

Elaine didn't need to ask. All of the longhouse was watching and hanging onto every word, and there wasn't a dry eye in sight. Bella waited patiently for the full story to come out and be told, and wasn't disappointed. As it had been two generations' time since the separation, many were as ignorant as Bella of the history, and it appeared Elaine and Maya were the only ones who knew. Even the chief looked expectant while the two sat down before the fire and Maya made Elaine comfortable, and it was a few minutes before Jacob had the sense of mind to hand Maya's blanket to the pair, and try to spur the tale that was to come.

Elaine caught up the blanket, and looked at it wistfully. "Oh, my. Dear, you still have this?"

"It's the only thing I had to prove I was yours," Maya softly said.

Elaine looked at her, and smiled. "Of course not, child. I would have known who you were even if you had washed up on the shore. Oh, but this blanket does bring back memories." She unfolded it, shook it out, and examined the worn pattern. "It was the blanket my sister made for your grandmother's bed. Ada was so happy when she found out that she was with child. She worked on the blanket night and day, and when the child was born, it was her first piece of winter clothing." The blanket dropped from Elaine's hands, and tears streamed from between her fingers as she vainly tried to control the emotions that now gushed forth at the remembrance of decades past.

"She was a good girl, but she was too much for her mother and me. Her father died before she could know him, and ever since she was a child, she always liked to run around and never do what we said. And when she got older, none of the boys her age were good enough for her, so she would cut class to go to La Push and mix with the young townies who went there. Eventually, she met a young man who was vacationing there for the summer, and was going to be a lawyer like his father, and would study in New York City. By the time school was starting again, we found her packing her things, and no matter what we said, we couldn't dissuade her. She—" Elaine's voice failed, and she burst forth in loud, raucous sobs, and for a minute or two, even Maya couldn't get through to her. It was after the old woman had dried her tears that the girl laid a gentle arm across her shoulders.

"What did she do, Elaine?" Maya whispered.

"She said," the woman began again in a whisper, "Rebekah said that she hated the reservation. That her young man, William, had told her of New York City, and other places, and promised to take her to them all, and marry her, and provide for her. I don't know if it's true…"

"But it is true," Maya broke in gently. "My father's parents were in Europe during my childhood, so Grandpa Will and Grandma Rebekah were the only ones I knew. They did love each other, Elaine. I can promise you that. Your niece was happy. She just didn't want to live in here—" She broke off and looked around the longhouse, her eyes devouring the sights as if they were all that she herself would ever want to see. "This place…It wasn't for her. She was a city person. And so was my mother."

Bella noticed the reverence and love in Maya's tone when speaking of the longhouse, as if she found in it the sense of belonging that her grandmother had been looking for when she ran away. She had to look at her differently now: had Maya been meant to come back to Forks to take Rebekah's place?

As if she read Bella's mind, Maya murmured, "I'm sorry I took so long to come back." Elaine wouldn't hear of it, and swept her into a warm hug. "You're home, my dear. That's all that matters." To the side, the chief nodded, and over Elaine's shoulder, Maya saw.

A good while later, after an introduction to Maya's family, a meal, and a promise to come back to the longhouse as soon as they were able, the two girls walked back together to rejoin their friends at the beach. Maya answered Bella's questions, and told her a great deal more, wearing her grandmother's blanket like a shawl again and stroking it where it fell around her elbows.

Apparently, Maya's grandfather had married against his parents' wishes, so they disinherited him. Of course, this hadn't bothered William, because he was happy with Rebekah and an ambitious career in law, but after a generation's worth of being ignored, his family repented, and now extended caring hands to his descendants, namely his only granddaughter. It was in this way that Maya had moved to Forks, to finish her education away from the city she never felt she belonged to, and bring peace to two families on the side. All this and more, Bella never would have known if she hadn't asked.


	3. Discoveries

**A/N: **I'm going to make this short and sweet. Yes, that last chapter was pretty long, and no, I can't guarantee they'll all be that long. And yes, that last paragraph was an attempt at a copy of the way Nick Carraway told of Gatsby's life in F. Scott Fitzgerald's _The Great Gatsby_, and yes, I know I epic fail at copying writing styles from the great writers. But hey—I'm learning. Cut me some slack. My own novels are taking years to write. Be glad I'm updating this every couple weeks or so.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except this story idea and Maya.

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Maya looked at herself in the mirror, debating as to whether or not to do something elaborate to her outfit. It wasn't like she was going to a party or anything, but her family would be there, and Jacob…

"Go for something simple, and don't do anything unnatural to your hair. You know they'll all love you anyway, and traditional is what you prefer, right?"

Maya nearly jumped at the sound of a familiar voice in an unfamiliar place, but a quick startled glance around her room somehow assuaged her fears: yes, it was Edward, calmly sitting on her windowsill. "How on Earth did you know I was going to the reservation?"

"I didn't hear you making any plans with Bella this weekend," he grinned. "So I guessed you wanted to see your family again."

Maya nodded. "But the window?"

Here Edward hesitated. "Uh…I'm a rebel?" Maya giggled, and he knew he was safe. "Actually, I just wanted to see if you wanted someone to walk with you to the reservation. Bella's spending some time with her dad today. They have nearly a decade to catch up on, whereas I've known my dad for, well, a while," Edward chuckled, "so…" He walked over and stood behind Maya, picked up the brush from her vanity table, and began to casually brush her hair. "If you want my opinion,"—Maya rolled her eyes—"you should wear your hair in braids. Maybe just a simple one," taking the hair from the nape of her neck into a ponytail, "or perhaps just from the top," dropping the ponytail and taking up a small section of hair from the top and middle of her scalp, in the beginnings of a French braid, "or maybe both?" He took the remainder of the hair into his other hand, making for two separate braids that could be joined at the neck.

"Edward, if you don't stop touching my hair, I'll have to hurt you."

He laughed. "You sound like Rosalie. Jasper and I used to always steal her clothes and makeup from when she set them out the night before. It was worth getting late to school to get her so angry; the total opposite of the angel Emmett always made her out to be."

"You're such a kid." She snatched the hairbrush out of Edward's hands, and began to brush her own hair. "Look, Edward, I love you, but if you don't get out of here right now, and wait for me outside on the pavement, I will—" she searched for a proper punishment: "—shun you all week."

Edward fake-gasped and clapped a tragic hand to his chest. "Maya, you evil girl. How shall I ever put up with being ignored during all three classes which we share?"

"And I'll make sure Bella does too," Maya quickly elaborated, raising a slim, malevolent eyebrow. "I don't think she'll like to hear of you sneaking into my room before I'm even dressed."

There was a sharp intake of breath at this, and Maya watched amusedly as the chastened young man marched across the room and went back out the window, and continued to brush her hair in peace, deciding to braid it after all. In about ten minutes, she was simply dressed, and went downstairs to meet Edward, forgiving him with a hug.

They started on their way to the reservation, chatting as normal, and were about ten minutes along when Maya stopped short, groaning and shifting her shoulders uncomfortably. She performed a few useless neck rolls and head rolls. Edward began to look discomfited himself. "Something wrong?"

"I stayed up all night, typing up that lab write-up," Maya confessed. "I even dozed off in front of the computer for a little while, so my neck is absolutely killing me." She put her arms behind her, crossed her fingers, and stretched. Edward squinted, not knowing exactly what to do, when he immediately shook his head. "Stop that."

Maya glanced lazily over at him. "Why?" She started to stretch her trapezius, tilting her head entirely to her left, and exposing a large area of smooth, tan, muscular skin.

Edward shivered. "Just stop," he continued, though much less convincingly. He stepped forward and brusquely took Maya's neck in his hands, trying to force her head back into its normal position.

"What's wrong?" Maya demanded, not even trying to free herself in her shock. "Edward!"

"Just stop," Edward repeated fiercely. "It makes you look…" He trailed off, being unable to find the right word, but his eyes, still fixed on Maya, fearful yet wanting, made her understand.

She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath before reaching over and covering Edward's hands, still resting on her shoulders, with her own. "Just help me out for a minute, ok?" She gently took his hands, set them on her neck, and silently taught him the motions of a neck massage, shedding some of her warmth to him in the process. After a minute or so, Maya left him to continue on his own, and casually began to stretch once more.

Edward, having borne all this patiently so far, began to shiver more violently at the feel of the warm, yielding, rhythmically shifting and contracting flesh under his fingertips. "Why are you doing this to me?" he murmured between clenched teeth.

"My neck hurts," Maya repeated matter-of-factly. "You don't have to rub anymore." Edward tried to remove his hands, but Maya clasped them to her neck. "Your hands are so cold," she cooed, pressing her head to each shoulder and luxuriating. "They're so much better than a cold compress." Unseen to her, Edward managed a wry smile. He'd never gotten that reaction before.

After a few minutes, Maya finally said, "I'm ok now. Thanks." She had had Edward's hands so long that they'd actually warmed up. He didn't move to release them, but instead gently traced the veins in her neck, down to the collarbone. Maya closed her eyes and sighed, and when Edward leaned forward, running his lips along the curve from her jaw line to shoulder, asked quietly, "Why are you doing this? It's Bella you're in love with."

He stopped cold, and Maya took the opportunity to pull away and face him. Edward bit his lip. "Look, I…We…"

"I know. But I'm looking for an explanation, not an apology." Her folded arms and kind look further unsettled Edward, tying up his tongue even more, until she suddenly leaned forward and swept him up in a tight hug. "I'm not threatening you," she whispered. "I just want to know why."

"Why what?" he breathed.

"Why you can't handle even the sight of my neck." She tilted her head again, and proved her point as Edward groaned and turned away. "Is it really as sexual as everybody says?"

Edward, hiding his face behind his hands, chuckled and rubbed his eyes. "I suppose."

"But that's not why it bothers you." Maya cast a keen look over Edward, his hands still unconsciously covering his nose and mouth. He quickly removed them, and took a step towards her. "Why, then?"

"Can you keep a secret?" he demanded, impulsively taking hold of Maya's arm and drawing her close to him. Maya nodded. "So what is it? Are you taking some drug that heightens your sense of smell?"

Edward's eyes twinkled, and in a lighter mood, one could suppose that he would have cracked up at the suggestion. "Not exactly."

"So then…" Maya turned chill as Edward leaned in closer to her.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone," he whispered into her ear. "Not even Bella."

Maya wavered for a few moments, but then accepted. Edward pulled away, lightly running his finger along the route of her jugular vein. "The real reason why I don't want you showing your neck to me," he told her, "is that I don't want to be tempted to hurt you." Before Maya could ask what he meant, Edward had plunged in and set his teeth, as gently as a wolf's when roughhousing with its littermate, on her neck. Maya froze, but no scream emerged from her throat: the canines made no attempt to bite into, or even pierce, her skin, even though she could well imagine that doing so must have taken a tremendous amount of self-control on Edward's part. After a minute or two, he promptly released his hold, and stood before her. "So now you know."

Maya stared at him. "Vampire," she breathed.

Edward nodded and looked away a little ashamedly. The next moment he found Maya's arms thrown around him, and her lips on his cheek. "It's ok," she whispered soothingly into his ear. He felt an urge to roll his eyes, laugh, and cry all at once. He never did know what to expect from her. "How is it ok?"

"It doesn't change the way I see you," Maya replied, loosening but not letting go of him, and lovingly caressing his cheek. "Do you want it to?"

Edward squinted at her. "Yes! You shouldn't—We shouldn't be doing this." He pushed her away.

"Oh, come on, Edward. Don't be like this." She reached out for him again, but he grabbed her arms and held them tightly. "You don't understand. If we continue being friends—if you don't stop being like this—nice to me—I could take you," he broke off quietly, squeezing her hands wistfully. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't think you will." Edward gave her another look, but she didn't back down. "Look, we've been friends for weeks now, and nothing's happened. You just don't want to believe in yourself, that you can be normal."

"I'm not normal."

"But that doesn't mean you can't try and act like a regular person," she responded, gently twisting her hands out of his grasp. "How else are you going to survive in the world? You act like vampires are from another planet. They're just people who drink blood."

Edward stopped. "I never thought of it like that." He gazed wonderingly at Maya. "Do you honestly think I could live like a human?"

"Obviously. You've been doing this for years, haven't you? You shouldn't be afraid of having human friends because you think you might be in danger of attacking them. Nor," she continued, leaning in, "should you keep secrets from the one you love, and on that note, I think you should tell Bella. Soon. She's a curious type, and I don't think I can keep a secret from her."

"What about the one that you were a Quileute?" The two stared at each other for a minute or two.

"Touché," she commented. "But that was because I didn't feel the need to tell her. It was just about me, and getting back in touch with my family. This is something Bella _has_ to know." She opened her eyes wide to convince him. "What if her neck hurts? Do you have to wait until she's suspicious of you, to tell her?" Edward could make no reply. "But I don't think it's right for you to go on like this. You're nowhere near as bad as you think you are. You deserve to be happy." He shook his head. "Just think about it, Edward. You can drop me off here."

They had finally reached the border of the reservation, but Edward could go no further. "Bye, then." He waved halfheartedly, though not insincerely, and went off, deep in thought. Maya sighed. If only he would believe in himself…

She went down the path to the longhouse, wondering how she could help him. It was ridiculous, the way he always degraded himself and thought that he wasn't good enough for Bella. Of course, now that she knew he was a vampire, his actions did make some sense, but his version of self-sacrificing humility was useless with the girl. Maya wasn't blind, she knew Bella was in love with Edward, and she could guess that Bella would be able to tell that she had a secret on Monday, and would try and figure out what it was until she told her, or unless Edward did so instead. If not, a fight could occur, and she didn't want anything like that to happen.

Maya left these thoughts aside as she entered the longhouse, ready to spend some happy time with her family. She was greeted by all of her cousins, dressed up in festive clothing and with elaborate hairstyles, for the longhouse was celebrating her return to the family community. After much eating, dancing, and endless questions, Maya was finally left alone with Elaine, although from time to time Jacob would come by and see if they needed anything. Eventually, Maya got wise to what he was after, and invited him to sit with them. The conversation drifted, and presently, Elaine asked Maya about her friends, and both she and Jacob had much to say about the girl who had accompanied Maya the first time she had come. But when Maya mentioned Edward, Jacob bristled.

"Don't tell me you're actually friends with that guy."

"Why not?" Both Maya and Elaine wanted to know.

"He's a Cullen, Elaine," he explained.

Elaine gasped. "Child, tell me it's not true. Tell me you're not friends with that boy."

"Elaine, why not? What's wrong with him?"

"It's his people, Maya. The Cullens aren't welcome here." He leaned in conspiratorially. "Let me just say we have bad blood with them."

Maya sighed. "But how does that make him a bad person to be around?"

Elaine laid her hand on her shoulder. "Dear, you don't know the history of the Quileutes, do you?" Maya shook her head. "Well, in my time, a rival clan appeared and began to hunt on our land. Jacob's great-grandfather was chief, and he sent scouts to go out and observe the intruders. They came back with outlandish tales: these people were so superhumanly strong and fast that when they hunted, one couldn't see them, simply a blur in the air. The people mocked them, but the chief believed what they said, and so he decided it would be useless to war with them, so he drew up a treaty. He spoke with the leader of the Cullens, and they agreed that if they were to move off the Quileute land, they wouldn't be exposed to the palefaces. He was a wise chief, and believed the old tales."

"What did the tales have to with anything, Elaine?" Maya softly inquired.

"When the chief shook hands with the leader of the Cullens, he felt the man's hand _as cold as ice_," the old woman replied impressively. For about a minute, Maya hung back, trying to remember and understand. "The Cold One," she whispered, before quickly recovering, and taking up Elaine's hand. "Surely you don't honestly believe that."

"Oh, but I do," Elaine promptly answered. "The chief spent the rest of his life convincing his people that the Cullens were not human, and dangerous to go near. However, he did say that the leader was blonde, and frighteningly pale, but he himself was warm and caring. He spoke a long time with the chief, apologizing and coming to an agreement with him."

Maya started. "Dr. Cullen," she murmured disbelievingly.

"Exactly," Jacob responded. "You can't be with the Cullens, Maya. They're dangerous." He leaned in closer. "They're not human. They're predators." He pulled away as Maya shook her head definitely.

"I've spent all of these past few weeks in school with them. They're fine. So what if they are"—she looked around before whispering—"vampires? They don't attack people. Edward told me."

Jacob jumped up. "Edward's told you?!"

"Just today," Maya said, trying to coax him to sit back down and escape the notice of the rest of the longhouse. "He told me not to tell Bella."

"He's putting both of you in danger?"

"He hasn't done a thing to either of us," Maya retorted hotly, "and I don't think he ever will."

Jacob groaned. "I can't believe that you actually think he's a good guy. Harmless, with those canines? Respectable, when he won't come to La Push?"

"Just give me your word you won't go near them again, my girl," pleaded Elaine. "I don't want to see my great-granddaughter in the clutches of those monsters."

"They're all right, I swear, Elaine," Maya told her. "Believe me."

"For me, child." She appealed to Maya once more, holding her hand in both of hers. "Please."

At this point, Maya stood up, and swept her hands into a prayerful gesture, crossing her fingers and breathing a gentle prayer in Spanish into the air. Presently, she opened her eyes, and looked pityingly down at Elaine. "I'm sorry, great-grandmother. I can't just stay away from them." She silenced Jacob before he could protest with a subtle wave of her hand. "Someone else is telling me to stay around them, and I can't ignore His command." She crouched down and tightly embraced Elaine. "I'll come back, I promise, but I can't abandon them." The old woman whimpered, but Jacob stood firm, only gazing steadily at Maya as she quietly said goodbye to the rest of her family and left the longhouse.


	4. Left Out, Brought Together

Chapter Four: Left Out, Brought Together

**A/N:** Yes, I made another literary reference in the last chapter. When I described the way Edward bit Maya's neck, I used a couple of words from Jean Craighead George's _Julie of the Wolves_, when Kapu and Miyax are playing tug-of-war, and she grabs the bone, and Kapu takes hold of her neck to get her to let go. Yeah. Just so you know.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Twilight, or the aforementioned novel or its author.

* * *

Dr. Cullen looked at her. "You're not serious," he said, his voice trembling.

"I am. Edward's told me about your family's condition,"—Dr. Cullen shot a sharp glance at Edward, who looked grave, but nodded—"and I thought I might help. Just this once. I understand that there are poachers nearby who haven't been caught yet, so it's a risk to hunt in the forest as you normally do at the moment."

Dr. Cullen sat down and sighed. "You're right. But you realize what you're doing is—"

"More dangerous than most anything else, yes of course, Doctor," Maya broke in. "But I know it's necessary. The kids can't even go to school, their cravings are so strong." It was true. Edward's eyes, normally a golden brown after he'd eaten, were now as dark as ebony, and had been for two weeks, and he had been the only one with enough self-restraint to show himself to Maya when she called at the house. As soon as she saw him, she had come up with her plan.

"This won't be just a one-day arrangement, you understand," Dr. Cullen warned her. "To get enough blood to feed the family, you'll need to come in for a week or so."

"That's all right, sir," Maya replied. Dr. Cullen looked uncertainly into her friendly eyes. He had heard much of her, but never gotten the chance to spend much time with her because of his work; but if she was willing to give herself up to help his family, then perhaps she really was as good as they said.

"Well…You are sixteen, so you are fully responsible for everything that happens to you," he warned. Maya nodded, and Dr. Cullen called for a nurse to come in and carry out the procedure.

"Have you eaten healthily in the past 24 hours?" Maya quietly answered her questions, and was soon holding out her arm, the nurse searching for the blue vein that showed up in the crook of her elbow. Edward abruptly stood up and made for Maya. Dr. Cullen saw, and swiftly intercepted him. "Son…"

"It's all right, Doctor," Maya murmured. "He can watch if he wants to." Edward approached her, and stood behind her, clutching her shoulder and watching anxiously as the IV bag filled with blood. "You don't know how much this means to me," he whispered in her ear.

Maya shook her head. "No. I've always wanted to do this. Now I have an excuse." Edward bent and softly kissed her on the cheek. The nurse smiled, and Dr. Cullen relaxed. He had a feeling things were going to turn out all right.

…

It was the last day of the arrangement, and the nurse was about to leave with the IV bag, when Bella stormed in. "What's going on here?"

Dr. Cullen discreetly motioned for the nurse to leave, and she obeyed. "Bella, you don't understand," Maya began.

"I realize that," Bella retorted. "Maya, if you'd just come to me and told me that you were going out with Edward, that would have been one thing, but sneaking around behind my back? God, I thought you were better than this!"

Edward, hands fumbling, left his father to take the tourniquet off Maya's arm, and approached Bella, taking gentle hold of her shoulders. "Bella, listen—"

"You stay away from me." She shoved him off. "You're just as bad as she is."

"Bella, you need to listen to me. Maya and I… haven't done anything like that." He tilted Bella's chin up so she would look him in the eyes. "I don't feel that way about her."

There was a beat. Bella stared at him, but then pulled away. "If that's true, then why have you spent this whole week after school alone with her, and not told me?"

"Because… I couldn't." Edward knew that wasn't any sort of excuse, and his head fell into his hands, and he ran his fingers through his hair a few times before catching sight of Maya. The earnest look on her face, the silent pleading to tell the truth, steeled him to make the needed confession. "You need to believe me here, and promise not to tell anyone. Maya already has."

Bella glanced over at the girl, little moved by her pitiable expression, but more inclined to believe him nonetheless. "What is it?"

Edward pulled her close again, his eyes fixed glitteringly on her face. Slowly, almost unnoticeably, he leaned in their faces nearly met, and he found the strength to breathe into her ear, "I'm a vampire."

Bella closed her eyes and scoffed, and tried to push away from Edward again, but he held on. "Bella, please. You know I wouldn't lie to you. Do you think that I'd come up with something like that on my own? …Don't answer that," he amended, as Bella tried to twist herself free.

"I'm not putting up with this," she snapped. "If you two want to go off together and not want to be friends with me anymore, I'm fine with it. But I just can't deal with you trying to be compassionate."

"Bella!" they exclaimed.

"It's true, and you know it," she managed to get out, before she felt her shoulders being taken hold of, and was spun around to face Dr. Cullen's kind, but concerned face. "Let's discuss this in my office, shall we?" Without waiting for a reply, the doctor quietly led her out of the door, down the corridor, and into the office, having her take a seat before sitting down at his desk.

"Now, Bella," he began, in the tone that she had always expected, but never heard, from her father. "How long have you known Edward?"

"…Pretty much since I moved here a couple months ago," Bella replied hesitantly.

"That's right. And in all this time, has Edward done anything to make you think him untrustworthy?"

"Not until this past week." She saw where this was going.

Dr. Cullen sighed. "Bella, I need you to listen carefully. I'm a friend of your father's, and Edward's a classmate. You have to trust us." He leaned in a little. "Edward wasn't lying." He sat back in his chair and began collecting Maya's IV bags into one packet. Bella watched him. He seemed to be serious, but he couldn't honestly expect her to believe that the Cullens were the stuff of folklore. He was a normal human being, sitting right in front of her, and so was Edward; admittedly quite pale, but then again, this was Washington. It couldn't be true.

She eyed the packet. "So then, what exactly are you going to do with Maya's blood?"

"Drink it." The doctor didn't bat an eye. "I haven't able to touch any other patients' IV bags, because blood is so precious in the hospital, and they are my patients, after all; but Maya is a family friend, perfectly healthy and willing, and I highly trust Nurse Goodley."

"But why?" If he was going to come up with this ridiculous story, she might as well see how detailed he could get.

"Your father's told you about the poachers roaming around lately, hasn't he?"

A memory of the loud conversation she had heard during the last time she'd eaten with her father in the café flashed through Bella's mind. "Yeah."

"The family's vegetarian. We hunt animals in the forest. But what with the neighborhood being on alert because of the poachers, it's very dangerous to try and hunt until they're caught. Maya realized this, and offered to help us."

Bella slowly started to take it in. It just had to all be true; how else could so many people be involved? Unconsciously, she rocked back and forth in her seat, and stole glances at Dr. Cullen. "Maya knew?" He nodded. "How long?"

"Two weeks now, by Edward's account," Dr. Cullen answered.

"And why didn't he tell _me_?" Here, he hesitated a few moments, and wet his lips before saying softly, "You shouldn't have to ask that." When Bella had caught his meaning, and stared at him shocked, he continued. "He wouldn't be able to handle drinking your blood. It'd simply be too intoxicating…He cares about you too much." As Bella hid her face, he smiled. "Not that that's a bad thing. It just made him not want to tell you what he was. He didn't know how you'd take it."

Taking a minute to recover and let the color drain away from her face, she responded quietly, "I'm fine with it. Can I see him?"

"Sure." Back again at the quiet hospital room they had left, Dr. Cullen and Bella came upon Edward and Maya sitting down on the bed. Edward was laughing at something Maya had just said, and Maya was eating something from a bowl in her hand.

"Hello. I ordered something from the salad bar. I hope you don't mind," Maya quickly began.

"It's fine," Dr. Cullen smiled. "You just eat and keep up your strength." Maya beamed, and waved at Bella. "Want some? It's lentil soup."

"Sure." Bella took the bowl, and sat down between her and Edward. The latter instantly started, and began talking very rapidly. "Bella, do you forgive me? I just didn't know how to tell you, I thought you might not—"

"It's ok, Edward," Bella interrupted. "Your dad told me everything." She stirred the soup. "It's better that you didn't tell me, anyway. I probably would have done something stupid, like offer you my own blood." Maya giggled, but Edward bit his lip.

Nurse Goodley entered the room. "Excuse me, Maya?" Maya looked up. "There's a Mr. Black here to see you." Maya wrinkled her brow, but Bella knew. "It's Jacob."

"Oh…Ok, well, let's go, then. I don't think I wanna see him alone at the moment, and we're probably taking up Dr. Cullen's time, anyway. Goodbye, sir." She motioned for the others to follow her, and as Bella drained the bowl and set it down, Edward grabbed their jackets, and they quickly set off after Nurse Goodley.

"Why not, though?" Edward demanded suddenly, right before they exited the hospital.

"Long story." Jacob was immediately outside with his hands in his pockets, and his eyes latched onto Maya as soon as she emerged.

"Hey," Bella offered. Jacob and Edward glared at one another. Edward's lip curled instinctively, and he tightened his hold on each of the girls.

"Hi, Bella," he finally responded. "Where are you going with Maya?"

"Um…home?" Bella tried to laugh, and threw an arm over Maya's shoulders, surreptitiously trying to loosen Edward's own grip on her and hopefully lessen the enmity radiating from both of the boys.

"Would you mind if I…took her? Everybody on the rez has been missing her."

"She's not coming with you," Edward growled at him. Bella was about to make another attempt at diplomacy, but Maya abruptly slapped at Edward's hand. "Stop it. That's not nice." Edward let go of her, surprised, and she turned to Jacob. "Hi. I don't think you two have met. Edward, this is Jacob, a friend of Bella's and mine. His dad Billy is a friend of Bella's dad, Charlie. Jacob, this is Edward Cullen, a classmate of Bella's and mine. You've heard of his father Dr. Cullen." A subtle eyebrow quirk on her part allowed for no words from either of the boys. "Now shake hands."

Both of the young men had been staring at Maya while she spoke, but now shrugged, and grudgingly shook hands. Jacob winced at the cold and tightness of Edward's grip, but otherwise made no sign of discomfort, while Edward's set jaw was a common enough characteristic of his to go unnoticed. Bella wondered what on Earth the point in all this was.

"So does this mean you'll go to La Push?" Jacob asked more than a little hopefully. Edward narrowed his eyes at him, but Maya appeared to be considering the request.

"No. Tell you what though; maybe we could hang out later, someplace other than at La Push." Jacob nodded, and after a brief hug and a wave at Bella, he was gone. Maya looked after him, and sighed.

"All right, let's go." Maya took the arm of each of her friends, and the three went off together.


	5. Not Yet

Chapter Five: Not Yet

**A/N: **_Finalmente_. No literary references. XD I dunno. Tell me what you people think of that chapter. I didn't like it particularly, mainly 'cause I can't write drama, but it moved the story along well enough. The idea, though, of humans giving their blood to vampires, comes from some random manga I read or heard of. Or several.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything but the storyline and Maya.

* * *

The outskirts of the woods in Forks were of a large size, and the path around them was well worn. They had been around for a long time, and with good reason. They were a pleasant background for a walk, and by venturing a little way inside, one gained a small amount of privacy. Consequently, when passersby were caught up in emotion and needed a good place to work things out with one another, they hid in the forest, where their figures were covered, and their voices hushed, by the trees and the noises of the animals that lived in them. And so, the woods had been witness to several fights, savings of friendship, and confessions of love, for centuries before the city's hospital had even been built, much less a vampire tramped its corridors, or a young Quileute girl given blood to his family.

Presently, two of the young players in this story were walking by the woods, and, like many couples who had taken that path, held hands and strolled on. Their own air was not like that of a real couple, however, for though they talked animatedly, the young man seemed to hang back, as if he were unsure of himself, and whenever the girl touched him the gesture was rough and playful, rather than warm and comfortable.

The conversation had died down for the moment, and the young man's breath caught as he stared at his companion, and they neared the end of the path, and the young lady's house. She looked back at him, gently caressing his hair and tracing a finger down his cheekbone before suddenly glancing back at the house, watching for some sign of movement from its inhabitants. When there was none, she turned back to him and whispered, "No."

"What?"

"I don't wanna go home yet. Let's go back." She pulled on his sleeve and tried to lead him back the way they'd come. He sighed. "Maya—"

"Please." She grasped his hand and looked appealingly at him. The young man bit his lip, and pulled her closer. "We can't."

"Why not?" she breathed. "I can stay out for another half-hour."

He shook his head. "No, Maya." He pulled away from her, albeit reluctantly, and started walking back down the path, towards his own home.

"Jacob—" The catch in her voice was enough to stop him and make him turn around, if nothing else would. "Why don't you want to stay with me? Have you had enough of me already?"

Jacob inwardly groaned. That was exactly what he wished she wouldn't ask him. "No, you just need to go home. And so do I." He tried to turn away again, but she pulled him back. "Don't do this."

"I can't help it. Why are you so scared of me, Jacob?" Her arms around his neck and breath on his ear were too much for him, so he struggled to loosen her grip. "This is the first time we've been alone together, and here you are, fighting to get away." Her tone turned playful for a moment. "Not even Edward gets this scared of me."

"I'm not…scared," he murmured. "We just can't be alone like this."

"And why not?" was the teasing retort.

"Edward likes Bella." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, and Maya knew what he meant. She pulled back in surprise. "You don't mean…?"

"I do mean." He looked her full in the face now, trying to figure out exactly when she would break and run away.

"How long?" she whispered.

He sighed. "Ages. Ever since I met you." He came forward and took the smooth curve of her jaw into his hand. Now that it was out in the open, he might as well give in to his impulses.

She was still staring up at him, with the most vulnerable shine in her eyes he had ever seen. "Jacob… I swear, I never knew…"

"You weren't supposed to know," he told her softly, running his thumb back and forth along her jaw.

"And why not?" she breathed. Before Jacob could think of any answer, Maya swiftly reached out and pulled his head down to hers.

Neither of them knew quite what happened next. One moment, the two were in each other's arms; and the next, they were in the forest, and he was trailing kisses along her jaw line, down to her neck. At the collar, Maya let out a short moan, and they pulled apart. "…Whoa."

"Guess I never thought it'd be like this," Jacob said, fingers still on her neck at the spot where he had left off. Maya laughed breathlessly. "Me neither." They leaned in for another kiss, which quickly progressed to the place where Jacob had stopped. He nuzzled, and Maya closed her eyes. His touch brought forth a memory of hers from not too long ago.

_A normal day after school, in the afternoon, when the courtyard was empty and the conversation getting idle…_

_"So Edward," Tyler broke in, with a mischievous grin on his face and everyone's attention, "I hear you've been spending some afterschool time with Maya lately. And Bella wasn't anywhere nearby."_

_With scandalized gasps, all eyes now turned to Edward, who looked as if the wind had been knocked of him. His mouth formed an attempt at an innocent explanation, but Maya was the one to answer. "For your information, we've been volunteering at the hospital, and I'm shocked that you would ever think we'd be doing anything else." Her tone was as sharp and cold as a boning knife, and an amazed whistle was released by one of the crowd, enough to make Tyler rub his neck and look down at the floor._

_"All right," he conceded, "I get you. But that's still not enough for me. I just wanna know what makes Edward Cullen think he can keep my girl Maya all to himself, while Bella's off spending time with her daddy, to make up for him not being there when she was a kid." Bella winced, Angela gasped, and Mike gave him a quick shove that nearly threw him off-balance. _

_Edward set his jaw. "That's none of your business."_

_"Yeah, Tyler, let it go," Eric encouraged. "Just because you're jealous that Maya's hanging out with Edward and not you doesn't mean you have a right to interrogate him for it."_

_This produced loud laughter and exclamations. "Wait, so now what? Not only all the guys but Edward are after Maya, it's all the guys including Edward?" Bella and Maya both let out a surprised laugh, and Edward smacked his forehead. "No. No. Definitely not."_

_"For real?" Mike scrutinized them all. "You do seem awfully close…" Maya rolled her eyes._

_"I swear, nothing's going on! Watch." She approached Edward, took his head gently into her hands, and kissed him, very warmly, and very close to his mouth. Edward quietly moaned, and the crowd let out a few catcalls, but otherwise, nothing happened. Deciding to step it up a notch, she held him close, and whispered something into his ear, putting her neck by his nose as she did so. This time, the moan was audible, and Maya let out a low laugh. "What? You can't handle this?" _

_"Maya, you do that one more time, and I swear I will—" The neck was already tilted, and a teasing twinkle in her eyes. Edward growled, lunged forward, and latched onto Maya's neck, to the immense surprise and amusement of everyone watching._

_Maya laughed, pushing her head forward. "Stop it, Edward. It tickles." She rubbed his hair. He didn't move, and she chuckled, but after a minute and a quiet little crack, she let out a small gasp and began to roughly handle his head, her thumbs at his ears as she tried to loosen his jaws. She laughed again, but less confidently. "Edward! Get off of me, you vampire!"_

_Bella turned pale. "What are you talking about? How can he be a vampire?"_

_"Bella's right. It's not like he's hot enough to be one," Mike remarked, and the group began to laugh. Maya began to smile herself, but soon stopped, and put on a cheeky pout._

_"Seriously. Look at him. He's pale as a corpse, doesn't go out into the sunlight, and—" she gestured to Edward still hanging onto her neck. "Well, doesn't that strike you as the least bit vampirical?"_

_"Vampirical?" The others began to snicker._

_"Well, yeah, don't you think? 'Cause of, like, empire, empirical?"_

_Edward cracked up and pulled away._

Jacob pulled back. "It's him, isn't it? He's been at your neck." His lip curled. "Edward."

"No. Not in that way, Jacob." He turned away, and she grasped his shoulder, pulling him back to her. "He was hungry. What could I do?"

"You can't just feed him like he's a dog!" Jacob yelled. "He's a hunter. Let him get his own prey. You don't have to give yourself up to him as if you're his slave."

"But if not me, then he'll go after Bella," she reminded him. "You know that there are still poachers roaming around." He weakened, and she took him into her arms. "I swear, as soon as they're caught, I'll stop, all right? He just needs a little help right now."

He stayed silent for a minute, resting his head on Maya's shoulder. "Why are you doing this for him?"

Maya sighed quietly, closing her eyes and laying her head on Jacob's chest. He held her close, trying to find the source of all her peace, the reason for all she was doing, but he couldn't find either. "'_No one has greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friend_,'" the trees seemed to whisper, and he was comforted.


	6. A Meeting

**A/N:** Ok. I'm reading _Tale of Two Cities_ at the moment, and I love _Bleak House_ and _Little Dorrit_ and all those soap-opera-y novels he wrote, so maybe that's where the style of the intro in that last chapter came from. Yes, random Dickens impersonation. Sorry. Tho I think I mentioned in the last AN that I just randomly copy writing styles for a laugh. So I hope it amused someone. I wouldn't write like that again for the world. And yes, in the end I did use a line from the gospel of John, in case anyone didn't know. Maya's a Roman Catholic, and that affects nearly everything she does in the story. I wanted to get that across.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except the stories and songs in my head (and on paper, computer, and the Internet). Oh. And the original characters in same. Such as Maya.

* * *

"You know how hard this is going to be, right?" Jacob asked her as they approached the longhouse.

"I know, and I don't care," Maya declared, earning a warm look and hand squeeze from Edward. "It's got to be done; otherwise you guys will never get along."

"Just be careful," Bella warned. "People around here _really_ don't like the Cullens." This earned a wry smile from Edward. "I know. But don't worry, I can smell anything they're planning a mile away." He sniffed. "Like the scouts they sent to see if you were really bringing me here." He turned to Maya, who looked puzzled. "See in the trees over there?"

Jacob caught sight of them and waved, more for spite than anything else. "Second cousins of mine. They're really old-fashioned." He gave a quick sigh. "Not everyone's willing to accept Edward, even if it's for just your sake, Maya."

Edward stopped and scoffed. "I'm offended." His face was serious, but the girls took one look at him and started laughing, and Jacob rolled his eyes. He quickly broke out into a grin. "What?"

Maya just hugged him. "See, _this_ is why I want you all to get along. You funny Englishman." Edward chuckled, and, looking down, stroked Maya's hair for a moment or two before carefully pulling her away and letting Jacob claim her. Bella stepped in and clung to Edward, enjoying the nuzzle and kiss that followed. This was the scene which faced Maya's family when they opened the door to welcome her in.

The first thing Maya did was let go of Jacob, and sweep Elaine into a tight hug. "_Oh_, how I've missed you!" After a minute, she pulled back from, though didn't release, her grandmother, and faced the longhouse. "Everyone, may I please introduce you to Edward Cullen."

There was a collective gasp and indignant exclamations, as Jacob's second cousins brought up the rear. "How could you let him in? Don't you know what he is?! Get him out of here!" Several snatched at Edward's arms, but he snapped at them and hissed, only serving to further infuriate the Quileutes. Eventually, Jacob and Maya managed with effort to push through and get Edward into the room, to face the chief.

The crowd quieted down and watched the chief coolly appraise the young vampire standing in front of him from his place on the floor, not having moved a muscle since he came in. "So, you _have_ come back."

"I have."

"And you've managed to take both Maya and Jacob into your power. Impressive."

"Maya was the one to reach out to me," he muttered. Maya heard, and came closer to him.

"Leave him, Maya," the chief commanded. "He's an enemy. His whole family is."

"But that was a long time ago," she pleaded. "Yes, they were hunting on our land, but they stopped when we asked them to." She laid a hand on Edward's shoulder. "And they're peaceful. Believe me." Edward gave her a faint smile, and pressed his cheek against her hand.

"Get away from her," Jacob's second cousin snarled, emerging from the crowd. Edward cut his eyes at him, and held Maya closer. "You're just gonna let him do that, huh, Maya? You like him protecting you from what everybody else says? Yeah, you like being alone with him?" A sudden fire blazed up in Maya's eyes, and she made to hit him, but Edward held her back. The crowd joined in the jeering, and she fought his grasp, strong as it was. Bella quickly stepped in to make sure Maya didn't hurt herself, and tried to soothe her burning pride.

"You think we wouldn't wonder what you were doing with Edward in that hospital?" His shouting grew bolder now, and his eyes were cruel. "Feeding him and his shameless family. How long will you submit to them?" He received a wrench on the arm from Jacob, but quickly pushed him away.

"There are poachers around!" Maya cried. "They can't hunt in the forest like they normally do."

"We were the poachers in the forest!" He reached out and tore Maya away from Edward. "We were hoping to starve them and make them go away, until you started helping them!"

"Let her go!" Jacob took Maya into his arms, shielding her from the savage crowd. "She hasn't done anything wrong. I've met all of the Cullens myself." Though met with a collective gasp, he continued. "And Maya's right. They're harmless now." He tilted her chin up. "I can even entrust my girlfriend to them, and always get her back safe and sound." Maya beamed, and unseen to them, Edward gave a brief echoing half-smile.

The crowd held back, and looked to the chief. The man's face was still tightly controlled, even while he watched Jacob, tenderly kissing Maya, throwing an arm over Edward's shoulders, calmly speaking to his still-infuriated second cousin, and finally turning around to face his judgment. By now, the arms had been folded, the set stare fixed on Jacob alone, and a seeming frown upon the lips that were to speak their conclusion. "For how long has she been doing this?"

"Has who been doing what?" Bella asked.

"Has Maya been… doing what she's been doing," the chief answered, the frown disappearing with a glance at the girl in question. A sheepish grin appeared on each face in the group. "Um, pretty much since she moved here."

"And why?" This question was directed at Maya, and in response, she quietly loosened Bella's hand on her shoulder to face the chief. Once more, two sets of dark brown eyes met straight on, searching glare with sweet tranquility; but this time, no truth was found. Maya looked away and spoke.

"I guess it's just because I don't want us to fight anymore. Our problems are past, and"—she looked over at Edward—"the Cullens are here to stay, for as long as we'll let them." He smiled softly. "It's wrong to continue with a grudge that's already been over and done with." She stepped towards the chief. "We had a problem, we fixed it, and we moved on. Shouldn't that be enough?"

The chief simply looked at her. So did everyone else. A minute or two passed in perfect silence, until eventually, he reached out and took her hand, chuckling very softly. "You really are some diplomat." Looking out towards the crowd, he asked, "Does anyone have anything of their own to say? I have no wish to keep up an old feud of our fathers, if the daughters and sons are willing to lay it to rest."

On hearing those words, Jacob's second cousin lashed out once more at Edward. "What did you do to her? She wouldn't be doing all this if _you _hadn't put her up to it!" Jacob held him back, and Edward laughed, a short bark that lost its humor halfway through, and approached him. "Look, I didn't know she was doing this until twenty minutes ago. I never did anything to bring her to me. You can't blame me for being friends with her, any more than you can blame Bella, or Jacob for being her boyfriend, or anybody who's ever met her. That's just how she is."

Maya colored and hid her face, but Bella smiled and nodded, knowing he was right. One by one, each person in the longhouse gave some sign of approval, until it was down to the chief staring at Jacob's second cousin, still in Jacob's grip, still glaring at Edward and about ready to beat the latter to a pulp if he were let go. After many people had tried to get him to calm down and acquiesce, and others had threatened him in some way or another to do same (his mother had tried both methods), Maya herself finally made an effort. She drew near him, and laid her hands on his shoulders. "Now—"

But he wrenched himself away and shot out of the place like a bullet. Maya held out her hands as if injured, and fell into Jacob's arms. "What's wrong?" she whispered.

He looked to the chief, who shook his head. "I don't know," he murmured. "I just don't know."

* * *

**A/N:** I think that's the first time I've ended a chapter in this thing where the air isn't really final. It's almost like I don't even know how to go on with the story.

...

Help!


	7. Firelit

**A/N:** So, somewhat unexpected plot twist. I dunno. I can't really tell where it came from, but it works anyway. In a dramatic sense, like. Can't have too little conflict. I didn't realize the feud would just end in one chapter, for example. Meep. I am so not ready for novels…

But Maya is that awesome. XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything I can make money off of. Yet.

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Chapter Seven: Firelit

It had been a while since anyone had seen Maya happy. School helped, of course, because everyone from the security guards around the doors to the principal spoke her name with joy, but that was still worthless in the face of the one person who wouldn't even let her touch him: Jacob's second cousin. He received her in the large crowd at the longhouse but left if she tried to approach him; meanwhile, she had a sneaking suspicion that he was sometimes watching her, hidden, as she went through the neighborhood.

She only told all this to Jacob, but Bella and Edward didn't need words. Bella concerned herself with trying to cheer her up, if only temporarily, while Edward had his own plans. The popularity Maya had so promptly won from everyone around her proved handy now; her social life had never been better, and every day was a brand-new distraction from her own internal problem. However, she eventually stopped putting on a brave front, and didn't talk with anyone but her best friends and Jacob; as time wore on, only the latter remained her confidante.

"Why?" he would ask, sometimes quietly, sometimes irritatedly. He rarely ever got an answer, but he kept asking nonetheless. He had never seen Maya like this before, or imagined that she could be this way. As much as he had wondered at her vivacity before did he now watch her uncomprehendingly, waiting for some semblance of a return to normality. But he loved her: love gave him hope, and hope told him to wait.

After nearly a month of waiting, Jacob got his answer one late evening in the longhouse. His second cousin had been in the forest all day, not even coming to greet her, but by now Maya seemed numb to the disappointment. She ate dinner quietly with the family, afterwards retiring to a shaded corner with Jacob, in his arms, seated with backs to the wall, curling her fingers around a lock of his hair.

She was warm: but it was a sensation he felt on her skin, not in her voice. "You know something?" A light murmur, directed more to his chest than his face.

"No. What?"

"I…don't really know why—" A mutual sigh, slightly irritated on his side. She was lying. Commencing to cover her finger entirely with black strands, she started again. "You'll probably think it's just silly. Worrying. All this." She let go of the strands, smoothing them down. "But you don't understand."

"I want to understand." He pulled her hand away, tilted her chin up to face him. "Tell me. What went wrong?"

"It was a guy." His left hand half-clenched in the darkness. "The year before last, at school. He—well, he had problems. He couldn't really handle his anger, and he wasn't the best in the class, so…But he was nice. And he liked me." She snuggled closer to Jacob. "And I didn't like him. I hung out with him, I was practically the only one in the school who even tried to be his friend, but I didn't like him in that way. It hurt, and I couldn't do anything about it, but what could I do? Then one day, he just—"

She stopped, pensively chewing on her tongue. He nudged her, knowing what the gesture meant, but couldn't bring himself to make her keep talking. After about a minute of staring into the glowing fire far into the middle of the longhouse, she continued.

"…He didn't come to class one day. It was only a month to graduation, so it was really weird. I tried to contact him, but he wouldn't respond, and when I called, his mom answered the phone." She held onto Jacob's hand. "She was polite and all—we'd met before—but she said that he'd gone off to live with his father for a while. It seemed he'd had an…episode, that last day I turned him down. He'd said he couldn't go to 'that school' any more, so he moved to Georgia. And that was the last I heard of him."

"…Oh." Maya nodded and cuddled closer. He held her, trying to take it all in. For a few minutes, they sat there, no effort at speech, both in their own thoughts. Jacob could understand now, at least why she made friends with everybody: she was trying to make up for the one person who'd rejected her, after all she'd done for him. _Now two people_, he realized ruefully.

"Well, nobody ever liked me after that," she began abruptly, and he looked at her. He'd thought that was the end of the story. "Really. The main reason I hung out with that boy was because nobody else would go near me. And after he left, it got worse."

"—That's impossible."

She shook her head, and hung on his arm. "That's why I liked Bella, as soon as I saw her. Everybody else looked like the type that would push away from me if I tried to make friends, but she had some look in her eyes: not judging, you know?" Jacob nodded; she was right, he'd noticed it himself. "And Edward: he just didn't mind."

"And I…?" They smiled. "You were _you_. And that was more than I could ask for." He nodded, and held her close. "Now I look back on it, it is silly."

"No, it's not. I get you. It's just—Is it worth it to worry about the one person who won't make friends with you, if everyone else loves you?"

"For me, it is. I like being friends with people; if I don't know them, I can't tell what they think of me. If we're not friends, if they don't want to be friends with me, I have to ask myself why."

He rolled his eyes. "Isn't it enough to know that they're missing out?"

She pulled away, gently. "How do you know that I'm not missing out?"

He sighed. "That's what all this has been about? You, wondering if you've missed out on having two more friends?" She glanced up at him, innocently, a bit frightened. She nodded.

"I can't help you there, Maya. Look, I'm here for you for everything else, but no matter how hard you try, you won't be able to befriend the world. And believe me,"—he playfully tweaked her nose—"if someone doesn't want to be with you, it's their own problem."

She looked at him for a few minutes, and then threw her arms around him. He reciprocated, chin on her shoulder to pull her closer, until a few minutes later, he felt that there was no more distance, and he finally understood her.

"Just don't tell anyone, ok?" she murmured. "Not even Bella or Edward. I don't want anybody to feel sorry for me."

He nodded. "I think it'll be enough that they've just got you back."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry it's so short. I'm saving the juicier part for next chapter. I have an idea for it this time. =3 Press the green button if you liked it!


	8. Deeply

**A/N:** So. I'm back. I have a weird sort of integrity; I realized I wouldn't forgive myself if I never finished my old fanfics. Particularly the ones I felt passionate about, which were most of them. This one has a special place in my heart, because of the culture surfeit mentioned in the Chapter One A/N, and because of Jacob canonically ending up with Renesmée, which is just not right. So here I am. =3

This chapter is ridiculously short, but the next one's nice and long (already got it written; write me some nice reviews if you want to see it soon). I love you all. Big hugs all 'round, I've missed you.

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Chapter Eight: Deeply

"So, do they know?" she asked.

The girls were now back to normal and currently walking along the stream that led to the longhouse. School had let out for the day, and they were on their way to hang out with Jacob. Edward was already down there, and Bella had taken the opportunity to ask a question of Maya.

As it was rather a private question, Bella had decided to be blunt, and had been successful. In the next ten minutes, she heard all about how "they didn't even have to say anything—it was like he just _knew_—and he was so—and she'd never have believed that there could be anyone like him, anything like this feeling, etc, etc."

After a while, the gushing died down, and Maya admitted that no, they (the Quileutes) didn't know everything. For that matter, neither did her grandparents. The latter had made it clear that she was here so they could have her company and ensure her education. They liked Jacob, but with their united strong wills and joint bank account, they were giving her the best of opportunities for her future. The thing was, Maya was sure her future was on the Quileute reservation.

"Not that I don't like learning, and I've worked, but only things I like. Everybody wants me to go into PR, some kind of high-class customer service, and I love people, but there's a limit, you know? I don't want to spend my life making friends for my job. I want a few people I can have around me, some I can visit every once in a while. I want kids, I want a home. I don't want some demanding job that would take me away from all that."

"What have we been fighting for all this time, then?" Bella bit out, willing herself not to fly into a rage. "Women, I mean."

"Some women are good at that sort of thing. I'm not. I want something small, just for me."

Bella sighed, exasperated. "You're pulling us fifty years back."

"I can't help it," Maya replied, her eyes limpid.

They sat down for a moment, Maya fluttering and delicate so as not to soil her skirt, Bella flumping down in a second and sitting cross-legged in her jeans. "You're gonna have some time explaining that to everybody."

"I know. I don't know what to do."

"The way I see it, you can either go the American way and do whatever you want once you're eighteen, or you can go the traditional way and do what the grownups tell you and be miserable."

"That's not fair."

"No. Things usually aren't. Just because they're going fine now doesn't mean they always will. No matter what kind of magical powers you have that make everybody love you." Bella wished she could chew her tongue out once she'd said that last sentence. Maya was still hurting over Jacob's second cousin rejecting her and the Cullens. She stole a glance at Maya and saw her staring forlornly at the ground, but whether it was due to her own faux pas or the topic of conversation Bella couldn't tell. "Maya? Look, I'm sorry, I guess I just—"

"It's fine," Maya whispered. "You're right."

There was a long, though not uncomfortable pause, and then Bella felt an arm being thrown over her shoulder, and a squeezy-hug. "I'll figure it out. But enough about me." The smile was coming back into Maya's voice. "You and Edward."

Bella flushed. "Yeah?"

"Well? Any news on that front? Any plans? Or not, whatever you want."

Bella laughed nervously. "Yeah, well, let's just say our situations are kinda completely different."

"Mm?"

"…You do remember Edward's immortal?"

"Oh, right." Maya laughed guilelessly. "I forgot. I'll miss you."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I love you but I wouldn't be immortal for all the tea in China." She wrinkled her fine brow. "Wait a second, there isn't that much tea in China anymore. But you get the idea."

"So if I—I'd have to watch you grow old and die?"

"Yes. Do me a favor, watch over my family, will you? I mean, my descendants."

"Sure. Wait—" Maya started laughing and Bella stared at her. "What are you on about? Or just on?"

"Nothing, it's just a little fun. I mean, if you do, I would ask you to do that, but you—" She suddenly sobered and put her hand over Bella's. "You don't have to, remember. Don't let anybody influence you in this. It's your decision." She leaned back. "Unless, of course, you're not thinking of anything long-term with him. Which is fine, too."

"No—no, believe me, I want to, I just—" Bella pushed a hand through her hair. "I mean, yeah I wanna be with him, I can't stand the thought of him leaving me," Maya decided to address the issue of _And _I'm _the one setting us back by fifty years?_ later, "but at the same time immortality is—"

"A heavy deal," Maya finished.

"Yeah."

"Well, it's ok. You have time to think it over."

"All the time in the world."

Maya smiled. "If you want."


	9. Healing

Chapter Nine: Healing

**A/N:** This is the nice, long chapter you've heard so much about. I like to think I get a bit better at writing with every bit of time that passes, so what with all the time that's passed since I started this fic, suffice it to say I really like this chapter. I hope you do too!

* * *

"Here you are, my dears," the waitress announced as she set down the eighth pair of cups of hot tea.

Maya thanked the woman with a smile, Bella with a nod. As another customer called for the waitress' attention and she hurried away, Bella glanced over at Maya. "How much time have we wasted now?"

Maya sighed gently and took what must have been the seventieth look at her watch. "Two hours."

"How much longer will it take him to get here?" Bella grumbled. Her companion laid a quiet hand on hers. "He's busy, Bella. You know that. He'll be here as soon as he can."

It may have been true, but it was hard to believe at the moment. Maya squeezed the lemon into Bella's tea and stirred it for her. Bella took the cup up, still sulky. "It was his idea."

Maya smiled inwardly. Did Bella believe he had enough imagination to think of it himself?

"I mean, seriously. Did he just plan all of this and then chicken out?"

Maya laid a hand on Bella's arm. "Honey…" The doors of the restaurant opened once more, and this time, Edward passed through. Bella was no longer looking up, so he met only Maya's eyes. "Will you be all right?" she asked Bella one final time, who nodded. She rubbed Bella's shoulder and got out of the booth, and exited quietly with Edward.

"What's going on?" he asked, as soon as they got out.

Maya looked around, smiling at known passersby, and led Edward further along the street before she dished. "Remember how she was going to have dinner with her father?"

"Yeah, of course."

"He's got caught up in something, and he has to be there 'til it gets cleared up."

"How long has it been?"

"Two hours."

Edward whistled. "Has he said what's delaying him?"

"No. I don't suppose you could…"

He shook his head. "It wouldn't help anything."

"I thought not." Maya sighed. "He really does love her. You know that."

"Yes."

"It's just that he doesn't know how to show it. Even his wife. "

"Ex-wife."

"Yes," Maya sighed. "I feel sorry for her. My parents don't quite like each other sometimes—they're so different, and both so set in their ways—but they always get along together, and they love me. But Bella—Charlie's always been about his work, and her mother just goes off and does what she wants, so nobody's really there for Bella."

Edward tightened his grip on her arm. "We're here for her now."

Maya beamed up at him. "Yes. We are."

"Evening," said a gruff voice near them.

Edward turned swiftly. "Chief Swan."

"Call me Charlie," he replied. "You've taken care of Maya and my girl long enough to have earned it. It's good to see you." He clapped Edward on the back. "So you two have been keeping Bella company while I've been working? Let me tell ya, it was a real pileup. Taking statements, nobody knew what happened. This fog. Two people sent to the hospital—cuts and bruises, but one was anemic and the other was a little old lady, so we had to make sure. And it's already been a hell of a day."

"But you didn't tell Bella anything about the accident," said Maya. She remembered that Bella had received a call at the beginning of their wait, that Charlie had been held up in something and didn't know how late he'd be. As time has passed, Bella had begun to worry that Charlie was using that as an excuse to back out of the dinner, and nothing Maya said could convince her otherwise.

"No. I didn't see any reason to. No matter what the problem is, I'm a police officer and I have to see it through. Bella knows that."

"Yes, well. It would have helped…" Bella didn't know how best to phrase what she wanted to say. She silently appealed to Edward.

"Bella might not have worried so much if she'd realized how serious the problem was," the young man said after a moment, as quietly as he could.

Charlie turned grave. "Oh. Oh, she's—" He gave a hand to Maya. "Thanks for waiting with her. I don't know what we'd do without you. Have a good night." He hurried into the diner.

The pair watched him go.

"He'll figure it out one day, won't he?" said Maya quietly.

Edward chuckled. "You'd have to ask Alice about that. But yeah, I think he'll do fine."

Inside, Bella nearly upset her cup and saucer at the sight of her father, and he nearly smothered her with a tight hug. "Been telling Maya and Ed outside. Four-way crash, just as I was about to clock in. Can you imagine. Had to stay and help it get sorted out. Otherwise I would've been here hours ago, Bel, you know that."

"Maya and Edward?" The temporary lack of oxygen hadn't affected Bella's thinking.

"Yeah. He's walking her home, I should think. Getting dark out."

Bella bolted out of her seat, but Charlie grabbed her arm. "It's ok. Maya's with him. Honey." She met his eyes. "It's _okay_."

At the risk of making too much of a scene, Bella bit her lip and buckled down. "They do this every time," she gritted out so only he could hear.

"Do what?"

"Go off together. I always think—I never know what to think."

Charlie watched her steadily. "So you _do_ like Edward."

Bella laughed mirthlessly. "God, yeah, Dad! He's only my boyfriend. What did you think?"

"Well, how would I know?" he replied archly. "You don't bring him over to the house. You don't bring anyone over, come to think of it. You kids all hang out everywhere _but_ in houses."

"Woods," said Bella, and downed the rest of her now-stone-cold tea. "There are a lot of woods. And the beach. I didn't have a lot of those in Arizona. I thought it was healthier to stay outdoors. And we go on the Quileute reservation all the time."

"Yeah, about that. _ and I used to kid each other while we were watching you and Jacob play together, that maybe the two of you'd give us grandkids one day."

Bella choked, and hid her face in her napkin as the waitress approached with an "Everything all right?"

Bella blinked rapidly and nodded.

"Well then, do you folks just want something to wet your whistles and I can come back later, or are you ready for dinner now?"

Charlie looked to Bella, who'd recovered by now. "Yeah, I'll just have a veggie burger."

Charlie smiled. "The usual, please, _."

"All right." The waitress took down the orders and smiled at Bella. "And your favorite for dessert. Berry cobbler. Your father still has it here. Every _."

This made Bella stare at her father for a good long while after the waitress had gone away. "I haven't had berry cobbler since I was seven."

"Everybody remembers you. See here"—he gestured to a paunchy man at the bar, nursing a beer and swiveling on his chair—"Lou was the last Santa you saw here. I bet he made an impression."

"Butt-Crack Santa?"

They had a good laugh at that, but then Bella turned serious again. She thought she was just beginning to see… she cleared her throat. "So. Besides eat berry cobbler, what did you used to do when I wasn't here?"

"Read all your letters. Emails. Showed them to everyone. They always wanted to hear from you. You had a real bright smile when you were a kid. We used to spend all year making plans so you'd have the best time when you were here. Everybody had ideas. But then you stopped coming." Charlie looked away, biting his knuckle. After a time, he said, "Your mom and I… We were never gonna work out. I realized that a long time ago. But I didn't want to leave you. Every day I woke up here, all I could think of was when I could see you again."

Bella could feel her eyes beginning to smart. She had a habit of crying silently since she was a kid, because she always felt like her mother took it personally when she found her crying. She'd never felt the need to cry when she was with her dad. That she could remember clear enough. "Do you want me to stay?" And there, her voice cracked. "I mean, Mom's fine where she is, and she's got _ with her. I don't need to go back until…ever." _Real eloquent_, she thought to herself. "She doesn't need me, I can go to a college near here…"

Charlie was watching her, with his eyes full. She trailed off. "Would you want to? Stay with me? I mean, Lord knows I don't have much to offer, I work too long and I really don't know anything about cooking or cleaning or schoolwork or, or teenagers… But if you'd stay, I'd try and change that. If you want."

Bella managed a smile. "I want my dad. That's all I'm asking."

And it was like a light went on inside him. "All right."

Meanwhile, Maya and Edward had been taking the long way back to her house. They had important matters to discuss, namely Bella, vampirism, and the mutual exclusivity of the two.

"Are you guys that serious?" Maya asked cautiously.

Edward sighed happily. "Yeah. I think so." He thought a moment. "Well. I am. She's got time to think about it. It's at least a few years until we stop looking the same age. If she chose then, I wouldn't mind; we'd just get looked at weird for all eternity."

Maya giggled.

"And of course, she doesn't have to turn. Even though it would…really suck if she died." He stopped and scuffed at the ground. "I love her, you know. I don't want to force her into anything, especially not something as serious as immortality."

"I believe you."

"And I'm not asking you to plead my case or anything—"

"Good, because I won't."

He smiled at that. "I know what you're thinking. Well, obviously I can _tell_ what you're thinking, but more than anything, I can predict what you're gonna say. This is something Bella has to decide for herself, without any other influence. It's just that—everyone in my family, when they met the people who ended up being their mates, they just _knew_. On both sides. They'd found that other half. When I met Bella, I had a feeling. When I got to know her, when you came along and brought us together, I was sure. But because I can't read her mind, I had no idea of—I still have no idea—Does she love me?" And he actually stopped and waited for a reply.

Maya shrugged. "I can't read her mind any more than you can, sorry to say. I'm pretty sure she does, but—what is it you need an idea of?"

"If it's real. On her side, that is. If it's just hormones or if we really wouldn't get along after all… I don't want her making the wrong choice if that means being with me and not being happy. I'd never want that. This is a risk. A huge risk, an investment. I understand that, and it's awful that I can't imagine what Bella's going through right now, because Carlisle never gave me the choice. But when he met Esmée, he laid it all out for her. She knew what she was getting into, and she wanted it. And they've never regretted it.

"It's not like vampires need mates, any more than people need to get married or couple up. It just helps to have someone with you. And it doesn't even really make sense for vampires to get mates, when they could have their pick of any human in all the generations. I don't _need_ Bella, to carry on existing. In theory, eventually I _could_ find someone who'd suit me even better than Bella. But. I don't care. I want her. I can't imagine wanting anybody but her. Ever."

Maya couldn't think of anything to say, so she just gave Edward a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, which he accepted with a low chuckle. As they walked on, Edward turned introspective, as if waiting for something. Finally, he said, "Act surprised when Bella tells you tomorrow."

"Tells me what?"

"She finally had that heart-to-heart with Charlie. She's staying in Forks until further notice."

"_¡Ay, gracias a Dios!_ He really needs her."

"I know." A sudden grin lit up Edward's face. "I told you they were gonna be fine."


End file.
